Catania Sicily, Italy. Men with a lower level of education live shorter lives, on average, than their better educated fellow citizens (photo: Jann Huizenga/Getty Images/IStock).

The gap in life expectancy between rich and poor people is a worldwide phenomenon, and has grown dramatically in recent years in some countries.

In our Chart of the Week, we show how this longevity gap, which reflects inequality in access to health care and its impact on peoples’ overall health, varies across countries. Men with a lower level of education live shorter lives, on average, than their better educated fellow citizens: this gap ranges from four years in Italy, to 14 years in Hungary, according to the October 2017 Fiscal Monitor.Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Inequality, Your Health, and Fiscal Policy” »

A man with donations from a food bank in Los Angeles, California: inequality within countries is on the rise, including in advanced economies like the United States (photo: Lucy Nicholson/Newscom).

Tackling inequality is not only a moral imperative. It is critical for sustaining growth.

Global income inequality has declined in recent years, with the Gini index—a statistical measure of income distribution with a value of zero indicating perfect equality—dropping from 68 in 1988 to 62 in 2013, reflecting relatively strong growth in many emerging and developing economies, particularly in China and India. However, inequality has increased within many countries, including in many advanced economies. Continue reading “5 Things You Need to Know About Inequality” »

Global growth continues to pick up and is broad based. But no matter how tempting it is to sit back and enjoy the sunshine, policy can and should move to strengthen the recovery (photo: Mumbai, India, Ingram Publishing/Newscom).

Nathan Porter is the Deputy Chief of the Emerging Markets Division of the IMF’s Strategy, Policy and Review Department. In this role he has led work on the reform of the IMF’s lending instruments, efforts to strengthen the Global Financial Safety Net, as well as the assessment of international reserve needs and EM vulnerabilities and risks more generally. Previously, he worked on the IMF’s programs with Iceland and Ireland, and the teams covering China, Hong Kong, and a number of other Asia-Pacific economies. Before joining the IMF he worked at the Australian Treasury, and he holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Walsh is a deputy chief in the Monetary and Capital Markets department at the International Monetary Fund, focusing on issues related to monetary policy, and financial stability, particularly in Asia and the Americas. He is also Deputy Mission Chief for the joint IMF-World Bank Financial Sector Assessment of China. His previous assignments at the IMF as well as country surveillance work on various emerging markets in all regions of the world, including China and India. His analytical work has covered macro-financial linkages, inflation, financing infrastructure investment, and systemic financial risks, and he was co-editor of a book on Asian financial systems. He also worked in the IMF’s policy design department, assessing the IMF’s surveillance of developing economies.He has a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago and a BA in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.